1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to media distribution and more specifically to controlling aspects of a media player during playback based on a media manifest file.
2. Introduction
Media distribution, including video distribution, via the Internet is a source of problems for many reasons, including video encoding formats, bandwidth, playback device capabilities, different screen sizes and resolutions, and so forth. Some manufacturers provide a set of guidelines for media distributors as a standard or generally accepted way to stream media to that manufacturer's devices, such as a standard chunk size for streaming media. Certain video playback devices, such as the Apple iPad®, prefer video content to be streamed not continuously, but as a series of discrete “chunks” of video outlined in a manifest file, such as an m3u8 file. The iPad® receives the manifest file that contains links to each of the chunks of video content, and processes the manifest file to retrieve and play back each chunk in turn. However, the m3u8 format imposes several limitations, including the inability to control or guide the conduct of the media player. This inability to control the media player may not be a problem for singular content, such as a full-length motion picture. However, for content that is supported by advertising, such as a television show, this inability is an impediment to delivering advertisements, ensuring that the advertisements are not skipped, and/or controlling other aspects of the media consumption experience. The limitations of a manifest file in controlling a media playback device are apparent in other situations as well.